Seven Sins ~ Pride
by Yukie
Summary: The demon mad hatter of the Grand Grimoire, Belial of the seven satans of hell... a butterfly who spreads her wings for anyone.
1. Part I

**Seven Sins ~ Pride**  
  
_Will your lustful butterfly spread its wings for anyone?   
_   
Fire from the skies, fallen on the western shores of the Dead Sea. It was another time, another world...   
  
High on the throne, King Bera looked down at the stranger kneeling in the center of his court with great skepticism. The ministers seated on the two sides were passing loud whispers in each other's ears and looking at the stranger with scorn; before long, a young man at the head of the council stood up. He was tall and well built with a stern but youthful face, his eyes were of an emerald green while his hair shone like gold; that was why his father named him Hymoar, which meant star in the night in their native tongue.   
  
"My lord, it is time we put an end to this absurdity. There is no reason to listen to the lies of such a madman any further."   
  
The king turned to look at the stranger who still had his head bowed low humbly without moving once when Hymoar spoke. "Be seated," he said quietly. "But father...!" the young man began to speak again but Bera ignored him completely this time and said to the stranger instead, "I would rather prefer to hear your intentions. Hymoar has a right to question why we have been gathered here to listen to the absurd tales of a clown."   
  
The stranger lifted his head and looked up, a little smile formed around his lips. "What Prince Hymoar questions in this matter is rather inconsequential. The only thing that matters is what your majesty thinks of my tale," he said calmly.   
  
The king laughed although his eyes remained cold, "did you really expect me to believe that the forces of Amraphel, Arioch, Chedorlaomer and Tidal would all join against me? Great kings who have been our friends, allies for decades and more... It is time you tell us your real purpose behind those poisoning slanderous tales you told."   
  
The stranger was still smiling, and with a dramatic sigh, he said, "Oh what treacherous plot could your majesty possibly suspect from a jester like myself. I am only a poor and helpless clown seeking shelter in your court if my tale proved to be true. All I have asked for... was wait three days."   
  
"And we are at the end of the third day," the king said coldly. Just then, the gates to the palace swung open as a courier covered in blood and mud stumbled in.   
  
"My lords! The armies of Shinar, Ellasar, Elam and the League of Nations have risen and are marching towards us from the four sides, over land and water...! They have overtook our first and second line of watchmen completely by surprise and will arrive at the city gates within five da..." he never finished what he was saying.   
  
Watching the chaos the court was suddenly thrown into, the strange jester still kneeling at center floor smiled slightly in disdain, and then quickly collected himself to bowed down humbly again. Hymoar walked up to the body of the courier expressionlessly and bent down examining it.   
  
"He was shot from the back," he finally said. "His wound is at least three days old."   
  
The king slowly stood up from his throne as a silence fell over the room. He looked up thoughtfully while no one dared to take a deep breath, and suddenly a high, shrill laughter pierced through the air.   
  
"Even when all the forces in the world are gathered at my gates, none will ever return alive. For I am Bera, _King of Sodom_!"   
  
_Once on a certain street by the dead sea... I did a meaningless experiment.   
_   
"Strange jester, your word has proven true. You may remain at my court, for you may prove to have further uses. What is your name?"   
  
"your excellency," the jester bowed. "This poor clown will forever be at your service. I am Belial... but they call me... the Mad Hatter."  



	2. Part II

**Seven Sins ~ Pride**  
  
_The name God has given me is "worthless"._  
  
A young girl crawled out the filthy alley, the rags over her body were torn and undistinguishable. She moved silently through the people and piles of filth, foot steps light and weightless from starvation, but her hands clutched tightly at her chest. She was holding three silver coins; it was not a fortune but the most she could have gotten when she sold herself for the first time to a fat man in the alley. Three silver coins, that was the most precious wealth she had ever possessed.  
  
This was the core of Shamayim - Fourth Dimension, the darkest corner in all of the three heavens, forsaken even by God. There was no law, no master; in an anarchy of fallen angels, wanted rogues and Improper Children, only power and wealth became authority. With no fear and no care, nothing was impossible on these streets.  
  
_Is this the only way you can express your cynicism towards God's existence?_  
  
She slipped past the men who tried to stop her on the streets quickly and skillfully, and finally stood before the last shop on the boulevard, hidden unnoticed in the shadows of the night. She looked up hesitantly at the sign hanging over the door that was half falling off.  
  
Free Your Mind... Break Your Soul  
  
_I will not walk the path ordained by God._  
  
I will not allow my life to wither away here. God has long ago abandoned us, our father has forgotten us. The only thing he has ever given me was a name, and I will make myself worthy of it.  
  
"One day I will stand up there, and everyone will fall at my feet."  
  
_Angels are such pathetic creatures._  
  
In a filthy mud puddle in the sewers, a caterpillar's cocoon began to hatch and tear. A pair of beautiful wings appeared through the opening and it soon struggled free from all the bondage. Crimson markings like blood were printed on the black wings; they spread, and leaving all the past lying behind with the abandoned shell in the mud, it flew away and vanished in the gray sky.  
  
The girl watched the glimpse of beauty disappear above her and stepped into the dimly lit shop without another moment of doubt.  
  
_It disgusts me to become a woman._  
  
I will become the most dazzling and poisonous butterfly that will captivate all of heaven.  
  
_Yes, my body will be the most beautiful of all..._  



End file.
